A Different Outcome
by Thine Dreamer Doth Take Flight
Summary: Revolving around what-ifs in Her Pain, His Heart and 'that terrible night' within Chapters 43-44. More details inside. Rated M for some pretty dark scenarios.


_A/N: Ever since I wrote that horrible fate for Carrie in __**Her Pain, His Heart**__—if you've read that story, you know what I speak of—I've felt terrible for it and wanted to explore different ways her encounter with her father could have gone. Obviously this won't change the 'canon' at all, and I don't plan on going too in depth with these scenarios because if I did, they'd become their own story, which I have no time for at present. So, with that said, I hope you enjoy these. It will mostly focus on those present in that alley when Carrie was forced down her terrible path, though there are a couple of scenarios I have in mind with Yami, thanks to __**NekoHanyouSakura5**__, so there won't be a wide variety of storytelling. Please read on, and thank you for giving these 'what ifs' a chance._

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**Deception**

Carrie stared in horror at Carl West, the man that was supposed to be her father but had hardly ever filled the part correctly. His hard green eyes observed her without giving away anything that he had planned while a million thoughts raced through her head. Most of those thoughts were filled with fear from the past. But the most important question that kept racing through her head was…How was he here?

Carl West had been convicted and was supposed to be rotting away in a jail cell in the States. He had abused his daughters. He had demeaned them. He had tried to kill Jessica with a carving knife. He had tried to do the same to Carrie, and probably would have succeeded if Yami wasn't there to give Carrie the courage to fight him off. The jury had been ruthless in finding him guilty. He was supposed to be serving a life-sentence in a cell with all the other people that had hurt others and thought they could get away with it. Carrie had thought she would never see him again when he was taken away in handcuffs that fateful day in the courthouse.

So how…?

"Hello, Carrie," he greeted calmly, remorse flashing through his eyes as he said her name. "It has been a long time, hasn't it, daughter?"

"How did you get here?!" Carrie demanded, shouting more out of fear than anger.

Carl flashed her a small, sad smile. "Getting right to the point, huh? I expected as much. You never were the kind to beat around the bush or were much for small talk…"

"Shut up!" Carrie exclaimed, taking a few uneasy steps backwards in her heels. "Don't…Don't talk to me! You're supposed to be locked up! You're supposed to be gone from my life forever! Now…Don't play fucking games with me! Why are you here?! How are you here?! Answer me!"

"I broke out. Simple as that," Carl admitted without the slightest bit of hesitation. He saw no reason to lie when she could clearly see that he had done so. "I had to see you and the family again. I had to make it back to you to…apologize for what I've done. Words could never repair the damage I've done to you, Jessica, and Megan over the years. We both know that. But…"

"…But…what? What in your demented mind…made you think seeing us again…would be a fucking good idea?" Carrie stammered.

"Carrie, I don't expect you to forgive me. I didn't come here for forgiveness. I came here to tell you I know what I did was wrong. I realize that. I've always been somewhat aware of it, but… I guess it took seeing myself behind bars for me to fully realize what a monster I had become. The fear in your eyes, the blood on my hands…It really shook me. Prison helped to open my eyes to that even further, and I knew I had to face you again. I had to—"

"You had to what?!"

"Would you please just let me speak? If I was like I used to be you'd already be dead. You know that. The old me would have come after you in anger and done everything in his power to make sure you paid for fighting back," the gray-haired ex-businessman remarked, causing Carrie's eyes to widen as memories of the past with him came into her mind. "…I don't blame you for doing what had to be done that day. I beat you unnecessarily…and then I tried to kill Jessica. Damn it! I don't know what came over me then. I don't know what came over me ever since the first time I hit you. I never wanted to hurt you, Care-bear."

"…Then…why?" Carrie croaked.

Carl sighed and leaned against the wall of the alley, resting his head against an arm as he tried to think of what he could say to explain this to his daughter. Carrie could leave him now and escape, which was what she wanted to do and the voices of Mirage and Uria were screaming for her to do, anyway. She should go, could go, but didn't. It wasn't from fear—its paralysis had worn off enough that she could move. Something about the way the man looked and spoke made her reluctant to leave. He looked remorseful, like the words he spoke were sincere. Perhaps he was no longer like he used to be. Perhaps, like he claimed, he just wanted to apologize.

"…I've always been the underdog, the one everyone walked all over. That caused me to be angry passively, and over the years the anger built up. When I finally came to be in a relationship with your mother, something in me thought that I had power over her, that she was something I could release my anger on at long last. I knew it was wrong, but treating her like she didn't matter… treating her like I had been treated my whole life…It felt right in a sickening way that I became addicted to like a drug. When she told me she was pregnant with you, I realized how stupid that really was and that I didn't need to hurt her to love or be loved, so I stopped and temporarily overcame my demons to be a father and a husband, as I always should have been.

"But the damage had already been done. My abusive ways had driven her away into the arms of other men who treated her better than I did. She cheated on me time and again, and I let her do it because I deserved it. I wasn't good enough for her and she deserved to feel loved, even if it wasn't from me. If you recall, for the longest time we were happy. I was happy. I had a successful job where I was on top, a beautiful wife, and of course my little Care-bear. Even when Jessica was born and it was clear she wasn't mine, it didn't matter. We were a family. I wasn't an underdog. I was happy.

"Then things changed. My business began to plummet, Megan continued to cheat, and I began to feel walked on again. I returned to beating your mother…a terrible, terrible thing…and when she claimed you were starting to act up after a horrid day at work…something in me just snapped. You and your sister saw the results of that over the years where all the happiness and kindness within me faded away for the bastard I became to take over.

"You have to understand…well, you actually don't, really, because I've never given you a reason to understand me. But when you've grown up without love and had as much pressure on your back as me, you're bound to break eventually. I never wanted to hurt you, but damn my soul for breaking enough to lay a hand on you and a knife on your sister. I don't deserve this life I hold. I don't deserve the family I have. I don't deserve forgiveness. I don't deserve anything but to burn in the fires of hell. I just…wanted you to know how I was before I became your monster instead of your father."

His green eyes met Carrie's, which were still wide with fear but had lessened as he spoke. She folded her arms across her chest as if she was cold before stepping towards the former businessman, hesitantly as her mind and those within it reminded her of the kind of man he had been under that skin. However, he hadn't always been that man and she couldn't overlook that. The same hands that struck her had once lifted her upon his shoulders. The same arms that threatened her had once held her lovingly. The same eyes that looked at her with hate had once looked at her with love. Looking into his eyes now, she didn't see the hateful monster that called himself her father. She saw her father that she had lost ten years ago, the man she always wanted in her life.

She reached a shaky hand out towards him and allowed herself to gently place it upon his shoulder. He looked at her hand as though it was something alien, obviously not expecting her to touch him as he had hurt her so much in her lifetime. She was tempted to pull it away, but fought against the urge to do so just as strongly as she did the urge to run.

"Carl, I cannot forgive you for what you've done to Jessie and me in my heart. You may have been walked on and treated like shit for most of your life…but you forced that onto us as well, making our lives a living hell…so forgiveness isn't possible for me to give. But…" Carrie paused and looked down at her shoes, clicking the heels on the ground a couple times out of nervousness, before speaking again. "…I am a Christian, and I have been taught that I should forgive as it isn't my place to judge. With the guidance of my Lord, perhaps someday I can forgive you for all your sins against us…as you are now the man you used to be."

She opened her arms and let him take her in his, just like he used to when she was so much younger. The tears fell from her eyes as she let herself feel like that little girl again, the one that had a father who loved her and called her Care-bear. It was like nothing changed in these ten years, that the monster who had caused her so much pain had simply been a substitute borrowing the skin of her father, and she could just melt back into her role as daddy's little girl.

"Oh Carrie, I'm sorry. You don't have to worry anymore," Carl whispered, stroking his daughter's hair with one hand while the other slid into his pocket. "Nothing will ever hurt you again. I promise you'll never feel pain ever again after tonight."

"…What's that supposed to—Ugh!"

Before Carrie could finish her question, she felt something stab her in the side, cutting her off while cutting deep into her. She pulled away from her father, clutching her wound as blood began to flow and stain her flesh and her black dress. The girl quickly lost her strength and fell at her father's feet, struggling to look at him holding that bloodied knife. His eyes were still full of sadness, but clearly he hadn't completely changed from his monstrous ways.

"I'm sorry, Care-bear, but I have to put you out of your misery. I can't risk my snapping again or someone else doing to you what I have done. I hope you'll understand better than your mother did…and that your sister will understand better than you," Carl said calmly as the tears fell from his eyes.

"…You…You killed Megan…?!"

"I sent her to a better place. You and Jessica will be joining her soon. I won't be so lucky."

Mirage screamed, writhing in pain within Carrie's mind as the blonde tried to get away from the man with the knife. Clutching her wound with one hand , she pulled herself forward towards the way out of the alley. With so much pain coursing through her body and amplified into Mirage's, she knew the dark spirit could not help her now. The knife stabbed into her back and she screamed but refused to let herself be killed without at least trying to get away. Carrie cried out for help as loudly as she could before Carl assaulted her body with the knife, slashing and stabbing into her repeatedly until she fell silent and ceased movement.

**CARRIE! NO! **Mirage cried as she watched Carrie's soul fade into the darkness, tears streaming down her face s her body continued to tremble with the amplified pain of the blonde's death. The immortal spirit knew it would only be a matter of moments before she and Uria were thrown into darkness as they were with the death of every one of Iris's reincarnations, and then the cycle would begin again. **You were supposed to break the cycle…You were supposed to be the one to free this soul and rid me of this cursed existence…You were supposed to be happy…DAMN YOU, CARL! DAMN YOU! I WISH I COULD MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS BUT FUCK IT I CAN'T! IT'S TOO LATE NOW! …It's too late now…**

"**She was the one, and now she is gone." **Uria lowered his head and released his grip on Mirage as it was no longer necessary to restrain her with what fate awaited them. **"Just like all the others before her…Yet somehow her passing is much worse."**

**She wasn't like the others. She was…like me.**

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_A/N: One down, five or six to go._


End file.
